These are the players forgotten about at opponents’ peril.
Whether they’ve been hurt by bad finishing, bad health or bad luck, there is a group of talented forwards filling NHL nets right now who are trying to rebound from uncharacteristically poor seasons.
In some cases, they’re surefire Hall of Fame candidates, such as Evgeni Malkin, whose two-decade Penguins career has included three Stanley Cup championships and one Conn Smythe Trophy. In others, they’re talented veterans getting unique opportunities, such as Vladimir Tarasenko making hay on the top power-play unit in Minnesota or Chris Kreider finding new life and big minutes in Anaheim.
In all cases, this group of early season bounce-back candidates are off to hot starts.
How much of it is real?
Here’s a deeper look into some of the most surprising NHL points leaders and the likelihood that their early surges mean they’ll be at their best all season long.
1. Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
2024-25 stats: 16 goals, 34 assists, 50 points in 68 games
2025-26 stats: 2 goals, 7 assists, 9 points in 6 games
Evgeni Malkin has the most storied and impressive career of any player on this list. He also has the best “down” season — 50 points in 68 games last year — and thus the most work to do to be considered a bounce-back player.
Malkin has been on fire through six games and it’s not just a case of unsustainable shooting percentages.
Most points through their team’s first five games by a player 39 or older in NHL history:
Gordie Howe – 8 (1968-69, 40)
Joe Sakic – 8 (2008-09, 39)
Jean Belliveau – 8 (1970-71, 39)
Evgeni Malkin – 7 (2025-26, 39)
Geno is aging like a fine wine 🍷
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) October 17, 2025
Malkin has found chemistry with Justin Brazeau and Anthony Mantha on a line that’s generating more quality scoring chances than at any time in Malkin’s recent history. The trio is producing a higher rate of expected goals than any line Malkin played on last season, including time spent dominating the flow of play with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell.
There are some “extra” points — an empty-netter here, a fortunate second assist there — but Brazeau and Mantha are opening up space, and Malkin is helping exploit it. It also looks like he’s having fun, enjoying what could be his final season with Pittsburgh. For an example, look at the pass he banked in off of a falling Sidney Crosby at four-on-three against the Islanders. That’s a creative moment, orchestrated by two all-time greats who are still willing to play.
Father time is no match for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin! 😤 #NHLFaceOff @jasondemers5 and @Rupper17 break down a vintage goal between the two. pic.twitter.com/xDtt25wSta
— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) October 12, 2025
Verdict: Malkin is known for hot starts — and his current point pace is a bit too otherworldly to last — but he’s going to stay productive as long as his line gets so many chances from in and around the blue paint. Enjoy the show.
2. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C/LW, Edmonton Oilers
2024-25 stats: 20 goals, 29 assists, 49 points in 78 games
2025-26 stats: 4 goals, 2 assists, 6 points in 6 games
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was never expected to reproduce the 104 points he scored as part of Edmonton’s record-breaking power play three seasons ago. He hadn’t been a point-per-game player in any of his 11 seasons before that; it was never going to be his new normal. Still, two straight steps backward led him to score less than half that amount in 78 games last season— -his worst per-game rate since 2016-17.
Nugent-Hopkins did produce 20 points in 22 playoff games, continuing a career-long trend in which he’s scored more often in the playoffs than during the regular season. Now, his hot start to 2025-26 has made him a point-per-game player all over again — partly due to a highlight reel of Nugent-Hopkins’ precision shooting.
Nuge wrist rocket 🚀 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/nJD1dJu7Ms
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 17, 2025
Nugent-Hopkins’ four goals include a pair of tap-ins on all-world passes by all-world players, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and he’s scored on 28 percent of his shots as a result. There is interplay between scoring like that and confidence, but his shooting percentage should regress closer to his career average of 12.1 percent.
It’s also worth paying attention to Nugent-Hopkins’ assist rate as the season continues. Noted as a “power-play witch” by former The Athletic contributor Tyler Dellow, Nugent-Hopkins was third on the Oilers in primary assists with the man advantage last season — and 17th in secondary assists, which are known to vary more from year to year. Nugent-Hopkins may have been more involved in Edmonton’s power-play success than his point totals give him credit for; he may be due for positive regression in terms of those paltry secondary assist totals.
Verdict: It’s tough to bank on a point-per-game season, but Nugent-Hopkins is giving himself a shot at a bounce-back year.
3. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, Minnesota Wild
2024-25 stats: 11 goals, 22 assists, 33 points in 80 games
2025-26 stats: 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points in 7 games
Vladimir Tarasenko is a great example of a player making the most of unique opportunity in Minnesota, where Mats Zuccarello’s injury created an opening on the Wild’s top power-play unit. Four of Tarasenko’s five points have been scored with the man advantage, and he added this even-strength snipe:
VLAD 🗣️
Vladimir Tarasenko has his first goal with the @mnwild! pic.twitter.com/nOx12VMXBk
— NHL (@NHL) October 19, 2025
Tarasenko’s reliance on power-play production is a red flag, given the likelihood that Zuccarello will take back his old job. So is the fact that three of his four power-play points are secondary assists — points for putting the puck in teammates’ hands, then watching Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy go to work. This isn’t meant to take away from Tarasenko’s legitimate offensive ability — see the aforementioned snipe — but to point out a bit of inflation in his point totals.
To be fair, Tarasenko is only two seasons removed from scoring 41 points in 57 games for Ottawa and then winning the Stanley Cup with Florida. He turns 34 this December and, while he’s on the downswing of his career, he is not ancient. For now, he’s not driving play at five-on-five, nor is he likely to keep his PP1 job all season.
Verdict: Tarasenko’s power-play success reflects smart usage by the Wild and good fortune for Tarasenko. It does not reflect early season dominance on his part.
4. Chris Kreider, LW, Anaheim Ducks
2024-25 stats: 22 goals, 8 assists, 30 points in 68 games
2025-26 stats: 4 goals, 1 assist, 5 points in 5 games
It’s rare for a 34-year-old veteran to see a sudden spike in ice time, but Chris Kreider is enjoying an extra 50 seconds per game in Anaheim compared to his final season in New York. He’s made a career of scoring goals from tight spaces — he’s one of the best deflection artists in the NHL — and already has scored four goals in five games for the Ducks.
His first is a classic display of Kreider’s netfront presence:
🚨 Kreider 🚨
His first goal as a Duck pulls us to within one!!#FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/vpxXbdQm0Y
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) October 12, 2025
For most players, a four-goal, one-assist stat line is a sign of overinflated shooting percentage. Kreider is no different, having finished 28 percent of his shots thus far, but part of that is a reflection of how he takes those shots: Kreider has made a career of “Cy Young” stat lines, with so many more goals than assists. It’s true that he’s due for shooting regression but his career finishing rate of 15 percent is higher than the NHL average.
All five of Kreider’s points come from Anaheim’s two wins — a 7-6 overtime game in San Jose and a 4-3 win at home to Pittsburgh. It makes sense that a rebuilding team (and a player who makes his living in front of the net) would be streaky, offensively. There may yet be major highs or lows for Kreider in Anaheim but, for now, he looks like the real deal.
Verdict: Unlike Tarasenko, Kreider is likely to keep his first-unit power-play role in Anaheim. He’s also likely to keep playing on one of Anaheim’s top two lines.
5. Pavel Zacha, C/LW, Boston Bruins
2024-25 stats: 14 goals, 33 assists, 47 points in 82 games
2025-26 stats: 1 goals, 5 assists, 6 points in 7 games
Pavel Zacha is the first of two consecutive Bruins on this list — a positive good sign for a team looking to claw its way back into the playoffs after finishing 15th in the East last season. He’s playing primarily at left wing, trusted by coach Marco Sturm in all situations, and is scoring at the highest rate of his career so far.
A PASTA PPG 🍝 pic.twitter.com/5yVrBcmgMW
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 19, 2025
All of the usual caveats apply. Zacha’s shot volume is nothing to write home about — he scored his one goal on just five shots through seven games. His line, with Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson, isn’t controlling the flow of play and is being outshot and outchanced at even strength despite holding its own in goals.
But Zacha has a lot of things going for him. He’s playing huge power-play minutes — 3:53 per game, which is over a minute more than what he got last year. The power-play minutes connect him to David Pastrnak on a unit that has (almost) nowhere to go but up after finishing 29th last season.
Verdict: Zacha may not be the straw that stirs the drink, but a bounce-back toward his 57- and 59-point seasons of the past seems to be within his reach.
6. Elias Lindhom, C, Boston Bruins
2024-25 stats: 17 goals, 30 assists, 47 points in 82 games
2025-26 stats: 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points in 7 games
Elias Lindholm hurt his back at the start of training camp last season, then never caught up. Fluto Shinzawa noted that Lindholm looks like a brand new player now that he’s moving better, and his chemistry with Pastrnak has led to plenty of early offense for the Bruins.
Pastrnak and Lindholm showing off some great chemistry 🤩 #NHLFaceOff
📺: @NHL_On_TNT & @StreamOnMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATPTr pic.twitter.com/PXjvwMuQKt
— NHL (@NHL) October 9, 2025
Pastrnak has been a factor on four of Lindholm’s five points this season, which makes sense: Over 90 percent of Lindholm’s even-strength minutes have come at Pastrnak’s side, along with almost 100 percent of his time on the power play. Lindholm played less than one-third of his even-strength time with Pastrnak last season, implying that part of what’s happening here is a good player benefiting from playing with a great one.
There’s also the case of Lindholm getting two of his five points by assisting on empty-net goals.
Verdict: Good health, great opportunity, and good empty-net luck inflate Lindholm’s point totals. The first two of those three items are sustainable, so even if Lindholm never returns to his Calgary-era point-per-game scoring rates, there’s a good chance his sophomore Bruins season will eclipse the first.
7. Nino Niederreiter, LW, Winnipeg Jets
2024-25 stats: 17 goals, 20 assists, 37 points in 82 games
2025-26 stats: 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points in 6 games
It’s been a long time since Nino Niederreiter scored like a top-six player — four seasons since he hit 44 points for Carolina and nearly a decade since his 57-point performance in Minnesota. He’s long been a streaky scorer, oscillating between burying so many plays in the blue paint so as to look like a top winger, and lengthy cold streaks — including two goalless streaks of well over 10 games last season.
He’s launched his 2025-26 like a rocket.
JAWS ARE ON THE FLOOR 😱 pic.twitter.com/xc8FnEnNjy
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 18, 2025
Niederreiter isn’t going to get a ton of breakaways — that was a perfect stretch pass from Vladislav Namestnikov in the video above — but he’s also enjoyed success on Winnipeg’s second power-play unit. If he were to somehow maintain his power-play points rate from early this season, Niederreiter would more than double his career high in power-play points (14.)
It is more realistic that Niederreiter will maintain a hot streak for a little while before returning to his typical scoring rates. He’s been full value for the points he has gotten — he made an incredible centering pass to Namestnikov for a tap-in against Philadelphia — but it’s tough to imagine Niederreiter finishing the season as close to a point-per-game player.
Verdict: This isn’t a sustainable ride, no matter how fun it will be while it lasts. Still, his 44-point total from Carolina is within reach as long as the Jets’ second power-play unit continues to hum.